The Foundations of Singing: Level 1

There are so many different approaches to singing out there, that it can get very frustrating. I myself have been to quite a lot of teachers when I was young, just wanting to know where to start, but there was never one way. Frustrating, I get it...

There are a lot of courses out there that promise to make you a better singer within 30 days or in a very short amount of time. Speaking from experience, these courses give you a quick overview of what you need to do in order to become a good singer. But they all lack to provide you with an in-depth understanding of what you're supposed to do - not only at the very beginning stages of singing - and can leave you more clueless as you progress, because in singing, everything's connected. From the very beginnings of learning how to breath properly right up to learning how to belt or sing with compression and working on your expression. 

It's like learning a new language, so if you only know the structure and grammar of one possible sentence, as soon as you want to say something different, you don't know what to do.

I have developed this course the way it is, because it is my believe that if you're really serious about singing, you should have as much information as possible so you really understand why we do things a certain way. You should also work on individual topics for longer, so the concepts really stick with you as you progress. Spending half an hour on breathing, supporting and placement really isn't going to help you sing better. That's why this course focusses exclusively on these basic topics. 

I personally believe that there can be no good development without getting proper feedback. This is why this course includes an invitation to an exclusive group of singers on Facebook. There you can post your singing exercises, videos, any singing / music related questions about this course or in general. I will give you a full feedback on your video/question and I'm sure some of the other members of the community are there to give you some feedback and advice as well.

Singing is such a vast topic with so many different aspects to it, that finding a place to start is probably the most important part in your musical development. From there you have a much better understanding not only of the foundations of singing, but also of where you want to go next.

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For everyone who has mastered the techniques of this course, I recommend having a look at my second course “The Foundations of Singing: Level 2” where we will look at more intricate voice building techniques.

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For me there is a natural progression when it comes to learning. You start at the very basics and once you have internalized these, everything else starts to make more sense. Of course you will still have to practise, hell I'm still constantly practising and adding stuff to what I can do. 

The concepts of this course are easy enough, but sometimes hard to apply, because we have to re-adjust our body and learn to control and move areas of our body we sometimes didn't even know existed. This is why I am trying to deliver the understanding of these concepts in a way that it's easy to grasp and easy to apply. This course is designed to teach you the understanding and application of the underlying concepts, hence it is a very technical course, where you won't spend hours singing. But once you understand and can apply the techniques, you will be able to sing for hours with good tone and all.

Imagine you're wanting to become a dancer. Without learning proper technique, your dancing will be limited and those with better technique will always advance faster than you. This is because they can build on their foundations. So while this (and I admit that) isn't the super-fun part of learning, it is essential for the development of your craft and the foundation for everything else you're learning about singing and the best way to start.

You will also need to practise a lot, depending on how fast you can apply the concepts. Unfortunately no one can do that for you- yet, maybe there are robots for that in a couple years time ;) - but I'm sure that with the right motivation and a strong mindset, you will be able to become the best singer you can be and you'll be constantly adding technique and expression to your singing repertoire based on the fundamental singing techniques.

To end this, here's what some of my students over the years have said about my teaching:

Tim is a fantastic teacher - he doesn't just teach the best techniques, he has always been able to identify the best ways for me personally to overcome any challenges specific to my own voice to help me sing the songs I want to sing. He has me hitting high notes I never thought possible, and with power too!

- Matt K. (Singer/Songwriter, UK)

Tim is an outstanding, professional and well experienced singer/musician. When I first started with him I was a sad case, limited range and vocal techniqe. But after each lesson with him and good practice at home I started seeing more and more results. Expanded my vocal range at least an octave, my control over my voice was becoming better and my technique was improving. What I loved about the sessions with Tim is that he's not one of those teachers who just waste your time explaining you how to do something, but he first makes it straight and obvious for you and after that shows you how it's done. No excuses whatsoever, the way it should be.

- Achilles Z. (Singer, Bulgaria)

I was stuck with my vocal abilities when I decided to take some lessons by a rock vocal coach. I just googled rock vocal coach in London and basically he was the first who came up. To be honest, I didn't have to look for another coach after that. Technically, I just needed a few lessons to take my voice to the next level...well...without him I wouldn't be able to do the things I can do now. He basically opened/showed me a way to a completely different singing technique that helped me with A LOT of things. Reaching high notes, better support... the list could go on and on. How I like to describe it is that he made a 'click' in my voice and since then my way of singing has completely changed for the better. It's like I discovered my voice again through his technique... and still discovering. I just can't believe what I can do now with my voice, which I'll always gonna be grateful for. Thanks Tim!

 - Lorence J. (Singer/Songwriter, Hungary)

Tim has helped me immensely throughout my journey as a vocalist. Thanks to him, I reached notes I've never reached before and was able to explore different areas of my voice that I wasn't familiar with! Totally recommend him!! 

 - Cat P. (Singer and Singing Teacher, Portugal)

It's quite a journey for me to London every time, but I'm looking forward to every single lesson with Tim. The lessons have a solid structure, I always learn new aspects of singing and I can see the improvement from lesson to lesson. I was only able to sing up to a E4 previously. Now I can hit notes like B4 and even sometimes a C5 without straining my voice and with a strong tone.

 - Simon B. (Singer, UK)

Just like those guys, I hope you will find success in what you do and if I can help you achieve it, even better :)

Looking forward to seeing you inside,

Tim